[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 11 (Monday, March 24, 2008)]
[Pages 389-390]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

March 15, 2008

    Good morning. On Friday, I traveled to New York City to talk about 
the state of our economy. This is a topic that has been a source of 
concern for families across America. In the long run, we can be 
confident that our economy will continue to grow. But in the short run, 
it is clear that growth has slowed.
    Fortunately, we recognized this slowdown early and took action to 
give our economy a shot in the arm. My administration worked with 
Congress to pass a bipartisan economic growth package that includes tax 
relief for families and incentives for business investment. I signed 
this package into law last month, and its provisions are just starting 
to kick in. My economic team, along with many outside experts, expects 
this stimulus package to have a positive effect on our economy in the 
second quarter. And they expect it to have even a stronger effect in the 
third quarter, when the full effects of the $152 billion in tax cuts are 
felt.
    A root cause of the economic slowdown has been the downturn in the 
housing market. I believe the Government can take sensible, focused 
action to help responsible homeowners weather this rough patch. But we 
must do so with clear purpose and great care, because Government actions 
often have far-reaching and unintended consequences. If we were to 
pursue some of the sweeping Government solutions that we hear about in 
Washington, we would make a complicated problem even worse and end up 
hurting far more homeowners than we help.
    For example, one proposal would give bankruptcy courts the authority 
to reduce mortgage debts by judicial decree. This would make it harder 
to afford a home in the future because banks would charge higher 
interest rates to cover this risk.
    Some in Washington say the Government should take action to 
artificially prop up home prices. It's important to understand that this 
would hurt millions of Americans. For example, many young couples trying 
to buy their first home have been priced out of the market because of 
inflated prices. The market now is in the process of correcting itself, 
and delaying that correction would only prolong the problem.
    My administration opposes these proposals. Instead, we are focused 
on helping

[[Page 390]]

a targeted group of homeowners--those who have made responsible buying 
decisions and could avoid foreclosure with a little help. We've taken 
three key steps to help these homeowners.

    First, we launched a new program that gives the Federal Housing 
Administration greater flexibility to offer refinancing for struggling 
homeowners with otherwise good credit histories. Second, we helped bring 
together the HOPE NOW Alliance, which is streamlining the process for 
refinancing and modifying many mortgages. Third, the Federal Government 
is taking regulatory steps to make the housing market more transparent 
and fair in the long run.

    And now Congress must build on these efforts. Members need to pass 
legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, modernize the Federal 
Housing Administration, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-
free bonds to help homeowners refinance their mortgages.
    Congress also needs to take other steps to help our economy through 
this period of uncertainty. Members need to make the tax relief we 
passed permanent, reduce wasteful spending, and open new markets for 
American goods, services, and investment.

    By taking these steps and avoiding bad policy decisions, we will see 
our economy strengthen as the year progresses. As we take decisive 
action, we will keep this in mind: When you are steering a car in a 
rough patch, one of the worst things you can do is overcorrect. That 
often results in losing control and can end up with the car in a ditch. 
Steering through a rough patch requires a steady hand on the wheel and 
your eyes up on the horizon. And that's exactly what we're going to do.

    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:20 a.m. on March 14 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 15. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 14 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.